Saharan cheetah update from Termit Mountains in Niger

Habitat of Saharan cheetah in the Termit Mountains of Niger. Credit Sahara Conservation Fund

-How did you capture these images of this elusive cat species? Have you also seen the Saharan cheetah in the wild?

January 2011. The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) has recently used camera traps and radio collars to provide further information on some highly specialized Saharan carnivores, including the extremely rare Saharan cheetah, as part of the Saharan Carnivores Project.

Newby said "Through the use of remote camera traps, radio collaring of small foxes and interviews with local nomadic pastoralists, we are building a better understanding of the ecology, distribution and behaviour of the truly unique guild of sympatric carnivores that live in and around the Termit Mountains of east-central Niger. The species concerned are listed below, together with their IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (www.redlist.org) status.

Saharan Cheetah - Highly adapted
The Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) is remarkable for being able to survive in exceptionally hot, dry areas without access to free standing water (they probably satisfy their water requirements through the moisture in their prey and on having extremely effective physiological and behavioural adaptations) and for persisting at very low numbers in remarkably isolated pockets and regions. They endure exceptionally high temperatures (upwards of 45°C in the shade) and comparatively low prey densities that requires high mobility and very large home ranges. The few photographs taken show very pale individuals with a short-coat that appear paler and emaciated by comparison with the more familiar images of cheetahs from Southern and Eastern Africa. Coat pattern, spot size and density, and morphological shape are all open to discussion, as is the whole issue of genetics and the relationship of Saharan cheetahs to those of other parts of Africa and Asia.

Cheetah observations Direct observations of the cheetah are very rare (no more than 1-2 a year) but supplementary data is also collected from finding and following their tracks, analysis of their scats and mapping of the trees they mark with their urine.

Very little is known about the behavioural and ecological differences between Saharan and other cheetahs as they have yet to be properly studied in the wild. To date they have only been captured twice on camera in our study. They are incredibly shy and elusive animals. Home ranges are probably very high due to the natural scarcity of prey (gazelles, hares, large birds, smaller rodents). There appears to be a preference for caves and rock shelters as breeding dens. Saharan cheetahs are also likely to be far more nocturnal than other cheetahs in an effort to reduce the combined impacts of high temperatures and lack of water.

Cheetah tracks and spray marks in Niger.

Human wildlife conflict
One issue of great interest to the SCF is the impact, if any, of cheetahs on domestic animals. They are suspected of taking goats and even baby camels and as result are persecuted just like most other large predators. Work underway with local nomads is putting together the true picture of livestock predation in an attempt to reduce the arbitrary slaughter of carnivores that has massively reduced populations of cheetah and striped hyenas and has led to the poisoning of many smaller carnivores, vultures, crows, etc. through the illegal use of poisons like strychnine.

Probably fewer than 10 individuals
According to the observations and data collected so far SCF assume less than 10 individuals for the Termit area, but from tracks and rare pictures taken in the past they are definitely breeding. Throughout the entire Sahara there are now probably fewer than 200 cheetahs. Their conservation is of the highest priority both from ecological and genetic standpoints given their extreme desert adaptations.

Potential for Africa's largest protected area
These observations are really important in providing tangible evidence for the cheetah's existence in Termit. The more SCF know about the animal the better they can conserve it, including pin-pointing key areas for extra protection. The cheetah's presence adds weight to arguments for the entire zone's protection as a nature reserve and strengthens SCF's ability to raise support for conservation activities. The government of Niger is currently looking to declare Termit and the surrounding desert a legally protected area that would make it the largest in Africa at over 38,000 square miles (larger than Belgium or the state of Indiana).

Our thanks to John Newby and Thomas Rabeil of Sahara Conservation Fund.

The Saharan Carnivores Project is implemented by the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) (www.saharaconservation.org) with support from the zoo community in the United States and Europe, and in concert with the Wildlife Conservation Unit of Oxford University (www.wildcru.org).